Something's Gotta Give
by Melody Malone
Summary: Ten years have passed since any of the campers have talked to eachother, and while they all have their own lives and have moved on, they'll be forced to face the past when they find their children have met eachother at school.
1. Chapter 1

Kari Torres slowly blinked as the sunlight filtered through her window. She lazily pressed the snooze button on her alarm, hoping to catch an extra few minutes of sleep, but she knew that wasn't going to happen as she heard her mom's voice.  
"Kari, come on!!" Shouted Mitchie, up the stairs. She was already busy preparing breakfast, and needed Kari to hurry up so she could get to work at the restaurant she was a cook in. After a few minutes, Kari skulked down.  
"Mom! Are you serious? Do I really have to go to school today!"  
"Yes." Said Mitchie, calmly.  
"But in case you didn't notice, it's my tenth birthday today. That's more than enough of a reason to stay home, right?"  
"Maybe. But it's also still a schoolday." Explained Mitchie, pushing Kari to the door, a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth. "We'll do something when you get home. Now. hurry up, or you'll miss your bus." Kari hugged Mitchie, and sighed.  
"Fine..." She pouted, walking out the door. Once she was gone, Mitchie sat on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. After a little while, she leaned over, and dialled a number on the telephone. She held the receiver tightly, until someone answered. They spoke a few times, before Mitchie put the phone down. Gathering her thoughts, she stood up and went into autopilot, getting ready for work. She had to focus, and thinking about him would mean she'd lose it, and she couldn't afford to do that.

"Mom! He's pulling my hair again!" Screamed Maggie Andrews. Caitlyn rolled her eyes, and ran upstairs.  
"Todd, leave your sister alone." Said Caitlyn, trying to remain calm as her son pulled on Maggie's pigtails. Nate laughed from the door, and Caitlyn scowled at him for not helping. Shrugging, he came in.  
"Sweetheart," He began, hugging Maggie. "You've got to get ready for school."  
"Okay dad..." She mumbled, going into the bathroom. Caitlyn and Nate laughed as they went downstairs.  
"Love our family." Smiled Nate, kissing his wife's neck. Caitlyn pulled a tight, tired smile.  
"Yeah.." She muttered, moving away. "I should get the breakfasts ready." She sniffed, going back downstairs.

Jason looked confused at the phone as the dial tone kicked back in after the other person hung up, but smiled when he heard a creak on the stairs, and saw his son, Joshua, walking down them. Once he was in the room with him, Jason signed 'Happy birthday!' to him. Josh smiled, and hugged Jason tightly. Jason smiled back, and kissed his forehead. It had been hard when he had found out that Joshua was deaf, and many people didn't think that Jason would be able to cope on his own. But after ten years, they were doing fine. Pulling away, Josh pulled a confused face, and pulled a photograph he'd found, out of his back pocket. He handed it to Jason, and he shook his head.  
"I thought I burnt all my pictures of those creeps..." He muttered, throwing the picture in the trash. Quickly he turned back to face Joshua, offering to drive him to school. Jason had the day off from the studio to prepare Josh's birthday party, and he wanted to make it one he'd remember.

"I'm not gonna go! You can't make me! " Screamed Amy Perez. Ella sighed, and pulled the covers off of her 9-year-old daughter. It was a constant power struggle between herself and Amy, and it seemed that Amy was always winning.  
"Amy, you have to go to school." Said Ella, trying to remain calm.  
"No! They tease me because I don't have a dad!" Ella sighed, and sat on the bed.  
"We've talked about this..." She began.  
"I don't CARE my dad didn't care when I was born! I just want him here now!" Ella tried to stop her, but Amy ran into the bathroom, and locked the door. Ella hugged herself and wiped the tears away from her face. Ella hadn't dated since having Amy, so Amy had never had a father figure around, and Ella had never been one to enforce rules, meaning Amy pretty much got away with whatever she wanted. Ella rubbed her eyes to stop herself crying like she did every time she thought of Amy's father. It was only ever going to be a one-night thing, but it was times like this Ella really wished that he was there.

"Mom, I'm leaving for school now." Announced Jennifer Tyler, heading out the front door.  
"Hold on a second—Mark, I'll have to call you back." Tess called into the phone, hanging it up instantly. Tess never wanted to be like her mom, whom she didn't get along with any more. Anytime Jennifer wanted to talk to her, she would put everything on hold for her. Jennifer rolled her eyes as her mom rushed to the front door. "Don't forget you've got an appointment with the orthodontist after school today."  
"Yes mom, I know." Jennifer rolled her eyes. "I'll see you then, love you!" She called to her mom, leaving the house. She headed down the road a little way, then waved to her friend. "Sorry, mom wanted to talk to me again. She's so overprotective sometimes, it drives me insane."  
"What was it this time?" Asked her friend.  
"Reminding me about my orthodontist appointment. I mean, hello! I wanna get this brace off, I'm not likely to forget it." She sighed, running her tongue over her brace. "Let's hurry up, before we're late for school."

"Let's go." Said the bus driver, impatiently, as Amy trudged onto the full school bus. After a long struggle, Ella finally got Amy out of the front door, and on the way to school. As the new girl, she was the target for a lot of taunts, but she made her way down the aisle silently, looking for a spot to sit.  
"Can I sit here?" She asked politely to a girl she didn't recognise. The girl looked up, and smiled.  
"Yeah sure." She said, moving her lunch bag aside for Amy to sit down. They sat silent for a while, before the girl spoke up.  
"Are you new here?" She asked. Amy nodded slowly.  
"My mom got a new job, so now I have to take this dumb bus." She muttered, kicking the chair in front of her. The girl giggled at Amy's comment.  
"I'm Kari. Kari Torres." She smiled. Amy smiled back.  
"Amy Perez." She replied.

Nate stepped out onto the patio, and took in a deep breath of fresh air. He smiled to himself, and walked onto the still damp grass where Caitlyn was standing, watching Todd play. Maggie had just left for school, so now it was just the three of them. Caitlyn looked deep in thought, so he came up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.  
"Hey." He said softly, making her jump.  
"Don't do that." She scolded, rubbing her arms. Nate smiled apologetically.  
"Well how about I make it up to you? We can take Todd to Day Care, and me and you can spend the rest of the day together."  
"I don't know…" She said, looking over at him playing in the sandbox. "Isn't he still too…young for Day care?"  
"No, he's fine, he's the same age Maggie was. And we've gotta get used to him going for when you go back to work."  
"Mm.." She said, looking at the floor. "Don't you have songs to finish or something? You're always busy these days." Nate shook his head.  
"I have time for my family." He reassured her, hugging her from behind. Come on, just me and you for a few hours. I'll even let you buy some new equipment for your studio?" A slight smile crept on Caitlyn's face.  
"Okay you won me over, I'll just get his things together."

Shane lay down in his bed, exhausted. He'd just called into work sick, even though he wasn't sick at all. Anyway, it wasn't a complete lie. Even though he wasn't the one that was ill. He told his boss he'd be in later on, but that would only happen if he could convince his daughter to go to Day Care.  
"Daddy!!" She screamed from her room. Shane rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and brushed his hair away from his face as he entered her room, hugging her as tears streamed down her face.  
"Hey, baby, what's wrong?" He asked gently. Rachel sniffed.  
"My tummy hurts!!" She screamed. Shane sighed.  
"Rach...If daddy misses more work, he won't have a job..."  
"BUT DADDY..."  
"They'll look after you at day care..." Rachel sniffed.  
"Will my friends be there??"  
"Yes..."  
"And the nice ladies??"  
"Yes..." Suddenly, Rachel jumped up, and hugged him.  
"I WANNA GO!!" Shane laughed, and hugged back.  
"Okay, I'll drop you off now..."

"Who're those jerks over there?" Asked Amy, pointing to a group of boys, ganging around a smaller boy. Kari shrugged.  
"I'm not sure...Should we get involved?" She asked. "They look tougher than us...But then again, poor kid..." As they grew nearer, they heard the taunts the boys were saying to the boy, who was roughly the same age as Kari.  
"What's the matter? Cat got your tounge?"  
"He's just dumb! He can't talk!!"  
"Not gonna stand up for yourself, dummy?"  
"C'mon speak!"  
"HEY!!" Snapped Kari, stepping over. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!" The bullies rolled their eyes.  
"We'll be back, when your girlfriends not around!!" They laughed. Kari looked at the boy.  
"Are you okay?" There was no answer. "Umm...What's your name?" Still no answer. "Say something?"  
"He can't." Said a voice behind Amy and Kari. They turned around. "He's deaf."  
"Oh, didn't know." Replied Amy. "What's it to do with you anyway?" She glared at the boy.  
"I'm James...James Dupree. I studied sign language, so I'm like, one of the only kids who can understand Josh..."  
"Oh, so that's his name..." Said Kari.  
_  
_Todd sat silently in the middle of the room, looking around for someone to play with. He spotted a girl with brown hair, and walked over to her.  
"Who you?" He asked. The girl looked around.  
"Rachel.. You?" She smiled.  
"Todd! Wanna play?"  
_  
_Nate watched Caitlyn curiously. They had been shopping all morning, and had just stopped off for lunch. Caitlyn had ordered a salad, but instead of eating it she was playing with it, twisting her fork in it and looking at it bored.  
"You know…the next step is to put it in your mouth." He teased. Caitlyn looked up dazed, then back down at the salad.  
"Regular comedian." She commented, smiling a little. "You know…I've been thinking. Were we right to move here?"  
"All the best studios are here, honey. And you know all the best studios need the best producer, and you're the best there is."  
"Yeah, but where the best studios are, Shane Gray is." Nate sighed, knowing what his wife was thinking.  
"We won't see him. We don't know that any of them still live here. Don't worry."  
"I can't help but worry, Nate." She snapped, standing up. "Can we just go home?"

Kari drummed her fingers bored on the table, and listened to the droning of the teacher. Kari sighed, and looked around. Everyone was talking with each other, and this depressed Kari, as she had no real friends in her class. She spotted a girl a little way away, and snuck over to talk to her. The teacher didn't seem to notice.  
"Hey...I'm Kari Torres...I haven't seen you around...Who are you?" The girl looked at her, and smiled.  
"Maggie Andrews, hey...I've only been here a few weeks...I usually get here early and get a seat at the back, but today my bratty little brother got in my way." Kari laughed.  
"I don't have that problem, I'm an only child!"  
"Miss Torres!" Both girls blushed as the teacher looked at them. They muttered sorry, and he continued. "For your project, you will research your family tree - You have a week from today." Kari sighed and buried her head in her hands. Her mom hated talking about family, unless it was her side of the family. She didn't even know her father's name, let alone anything about his family.  
_  
_"I am so glad this day is over." Kari said with a huff throwing up her arms as her and Amy headed over to her locker  
"Same here."  
"Hey Kari over here!" Both girls looked over dazed to see Maggie waving them over to a brick wall. Just as Amy and Kari got to the wall, James came over with Josh.  
"Hey Kari, Amy? Josh's dad is having a party for him...It's his birthday...Wanna come?"  
"Well…it's kind of mine, too. But my mom won't be home from work for a few hours, so sure." Answered Kari eventually.  
"Great! So, do you two want to come?"  
"We'll have to call our parents when we get there." Said Maggie, as Amy nodded.  
"I should be able to walk home, but my mom'll still want to know where I am."

"Daddy, Daddy!" Rachel cried in a hyper voice as she spotted Shane walk into the nursery room. It had been a stressful day at work, and the artist he was working with had only got one song recorded, but he had just wanted to collect Rachel, and go home. He picked her up, and swung her around in his arms, before pulling her into a close hug.  
"Hey princess, how was your day?" He asked smiling, setting her down carefully.  
"I met a new friend!" She said, pointing over to Todd who was trying to stack uneven blocks. Rachel grabbed Shane's hand and pulled him over to the messy corner.  
"Daddy this is Todd, Todd this is Daddy." Rachel said very pleased with herself at the formal introduction.  
"Hi." Shane said, crouching down. He studied Todd's faces and tilted his head slightly, seeing something familiar in his eyes. Shrugging, he stood back up "Well, you're ready to go Rach." he said, as he started picking up her backpack and her coat.  
"But Todd's mommy and daddy aren't here yet." she said, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes. Shane laughed.  
"I'm sure they will be here soon, but now its your time to leave, you can see him tomorrow." Finally Rachel agreed and waved goodbye to Todd, as Shane lifted her onto his shoulders to give her a piggy back to the car.

"Aw, are you Josh's friends?" Asked Jason, opening the door, as they filed in.  
"Thanks for this, Mr. Black." Said James, smiling. "Umm...My mom knows I'm here...Can the others call home?"  
"Of course James." Said Jason, sitting on the sofa with Josh, and handing him a pile of birthday cards. He recognised the scribbled handwriting on one of the envelopes, frowned, and quickly hid the card behind his back. "So, are all you Josh's friends?" He asked, as Kari and Amy waited for Maggie to get off the phone. He glanced at Kari, and realised her face was very familiar. He shook his head, confused, and smiled again.  
"Yeah, he's a really nice guy." Smiled Amy, pretending the best she could that she knew him.

Just as Shane drove away, Caitlyn and Nate pulled in and began walking into the nursery.  
"Mommy!" Cheered Todd, hugging Caitlyn tightly.  
"How's our little man?" Grinned Nate.  
"I loved it daddy!!" He smiled. "I played with the blocks, and the toy cars, and everything! Can I do it again? Can I??" The daycare assistant came over.  
"Oh, he was a little angel - You should bring him back tomorrow, he's made a friend!"  
"Aw, Todd that's great." Smiled Caitlyn. "Maybe we could have his friend come over for playdates or something." She said, looking at Nate. Nate nodded.  
"What was his friend's name." He asked.  
"Rachel Gray."  
"D…Did you say Gray?" Caitlyn stuttered, backing away slightly. The assistant nodded, apparently not seeing how freaked out Caitlyn looked. Nate quickly stepped in front.  
"Well, we might be here tomorrow, thanks for everything." he said quickly, rushing Todd and Caitlyn out of the nursery.  
"It can't be!" Caitlyn said, shaking her head worried.  
"Grays a common name. And he didn't even have a kid the last time we saw him."  
"The last time we saw his was…10 years ago. A lot could've changed." Pointed out Caitlyn, trying to put it in the back of her mind for now.


	2. Chapter 2

When Nate and Caitlyn got home, there was message on the answering machine  
"Hi Mom and Dad." Came a familiar voice "I met some friends today at school and now I'm over at Josh Black's house, it's his birthday, I'll call when I need to be picked up, bye" Beep  
"That was maggie." Nate said, coming into the living room and handing Caitlyn a cup of coffee and sat down beside her as she watched Todd watch a Barney movie "She's over at a friends house." He finished  
"Oh, I'm so glad she's making friends, its just been so hard on her moving so far away from her friends. What's her friends name?" Caitlyn asked sipping quietly  
"Someone named Josh." Nate said puttin his arm around her shoulders  
"Josh who?" Muttered Caitlyn.  
"Black..."he said not noticing the last name  
"That's nice..."Caitlyn said until finally noticing "wait did you say Black, you mean Jason's little boy?" Caitlyn asked, surprised  
"I really don't know, I haven't spoken to him since he found out Joshua was deaf. He was pretty upset when I suggested he couldn't cope on his own. We'll find out when we go to pick her up." Nate said, comforting his wife. Caitlyn eased down and leaned against him and they kissed gently on the lips.

Jason came in with a spider-man cake as they started singing "Happy Birthday", even though Josh couldn't hear them. Jason signed out the words as they sang, then handed him the cake to blow out the candles. Everyone cheered as all the candles blew out, and Josh smiled proudly to himself.  
"Kari, you look familiar, who's your mom?" Jason asked as he cut everyone a piece of cake. It had been annoying him since he first saw her, but couldn't put his finger on it.  
"Oh, her names--"she started, but was cut off by the phone ringing.  
"Sorry, let me just get that. "Jason smiled apologetically, and rushed off to answer the phone.

A few hours later, Mitchie threw her keys down on the kitchen table, and took off her coat. Work had been horrendous, especially when she wasn't able to concentrate, just like she knew she wouldn't. She felt bad that she hadn't planned anything special for Kari's birthday, but money was tight, and Mitchie had been taking all the shifts available at the restaurant just to scrape enough money together for her presents, let alone a party. She didn't want to ask the father for any child support, either.  
"Kari, I'm home!" She called, but there was no answer. Mitchie wondered over to the answer machine, and pressed a button.  
"You've have 1 new message." She heard the recorded voice say. Mitchie turned round, as she sighed with relief, hearing her daughter's voice.  
"Mom? It's Kari. Look, I'm just round a friend's house for their birthday. Come and collect me at..." Mitchie scribbled down the address on a post-it note, and ran out to the car, sticking the address next to the wheel, and turning the engine on.

Tess was doing some cleaning before Jennifer got home. Putting the last few things in her cupboard, she jumped back.  
"Ow!!" She whimpered. Her finger had hit a box at the back. Pulling it down, she found her Connect 3 CDs, as well as 3 large photo albums from back at Camp Rock, and the years following. Scolding herself, Tess climbed up into the attic, and hid them at the back, behind the boxes of Jennifer's old toys and clothes.  
"Mom!! I'm home!!" She heard from the ground floor. Tess rubbed a few tears out of her eyes, and pushed the attic door shut.  
"I'll be down in a minute sweetie!!" Called Tess back, grabbing her Blackberry from her back pocket as she came downstairs. She was a PA to one of the biggest stars at the moment, and had to deal with a double booking for a photoshoot, and was having a hard time rescheduling one of them.  
"Hey mom I have this project that I've gotta do for school. I have to make a baby book. I'm looking for some baby photos, and maybe some of my baby stuff, just to skim through it for some ideas." Jennifer said, looking over at her mom who was busy typing away in her Blackberry.  
"Uh huh." Tess muttered, distracted. Jennifer sighed. Whenever she wanted to actually talk to her mom, it seemed, she was too busy to listen.  
"Well about the project, is it okay if I go take a look at some old stuff in the attic?" Jennifer asked.  
"Sure, sure." Tess said not thinking about what she said. Jennifer nodded and smiled, running upstairs.  
_  
_"Do you want me to go and get her?" Asked Nate, as the time of the party ended. Caitlyn smiled, and picked up her coat from the hook.  
"I'll go. It's fine." She sighed, though she didn't really want to go. She didn't mind seeing Jason, as they had never really argued in their life, but it was just the memories getting brought up she didn't like. "You stay here and look after Todd." Nate sighed, and nodded.  
"Yeah...Alright." Nate kissed Caitlyn on the nose. "And this thing about Todd's friend...We'll find out, and sort it out, okay?" Caitlyn sighed.  
"If it's him..."  
"If it's him, then we'll get Todd a place at another Day Care place. As far away from Shane Gray as possible."

Mitchie knocked on the door, and waited patiently outside for the kid's mother to answer the door, so she could get Kari.  
"Come on...I need to get home..." Muttered Mitchie under her breath, kicking the floor silently. She jumped when she heard a voice behind her;  
"Mitchie?!" Mitchie was froze on the spot. She didn't want to turn round to face the owner of the voice. She knew she would have to eventually, so she looked over her shoulder. Ella. They stood there in silence for awhile when Jason opened the door  
"Sorry I took so long, the kids are just..."He began, but then froze when he looked up and saw Ella and Mitchie standing on the doorstep. "…What are you doing here?" He said, defensively. Kari poked her head out the door.  
"Hey mom, you're here early." She said, then slowly realised the tension that surrounded the three parents. "Mom?" Jason looked at Kari, then back at Mitchie, the realisation slowly coming over him. Mitchie slammed her eyes shut. She didn't want to do this, not now, and not like this.  
"Kari, grab your coat, we're leaving now." Mitchie said urgently, rummaging in her bag for the car keys.  
"B-But..when can I come back?" Kari stuttered, looking back at everyone still at the party.  
"Never, now come on." Mitchie snapped, and grabbing Kari's hand, she pulled her out to the car.  
"Hey Jason!" Ella smiled brightly. "It's been a long time!"  
"I know…" Said Jason, trailing off as he watched Mitchie's car pull away. How did he not see it? How did he not recognise his own daugher?

A dark blue car pulled up in the driveway, and Caitlyn stepped out. She looked around, then rushed over as she saw Jason.  
"Wow, Jason, long time no see." She smiled, hugging him. "How are you!" She asked, when she saw Jason wasn't looking at her. She looked over her shoulder to see Ella slowly backing away, looking terrified.  
"Amy come on honey, lets go." Ella said.  
"But i wanna stay here a little longer." Amy pouted  
"Not now Amy, just please listen to me--"  
"Wait Ella, this isn't..." Caitlyn started than covered her mouth with her hand, in complete shock. She glared at Amy. "I don't ever want you around my daughter again, do you hear me!" Caitlyn yelled at Amy "And you! You can stay away from my family!" She pointed at Ella, shaking. Ella didn't say a word, but held Amy's hand, and rushed her into the car, quickly driving away.  
"Mom, why did you do that!" Maggie started  
"Don't start, Maggie." Caitlyn said, sighing. "It was nice seeing you Jason but…we have to go." Jason nodded, and waved them goodbye. As they got into the car, Caitlyn turned angrily at Maggie.  
"Maggie you are not to speak to any of those children ever again! Do I make myself clear!"  
"What! Mom, they're my friends! I thought you'd be happy I was making friends!"  
"Don't argue with me, young lady." Snapped Caitlyn, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Maggie kicked the car angrily, and nodded.  
"Yes..." She muttered.

When Kari got home, instead of asking her mom for her birthday presents, or going into the kitchen to blow out the candles on the cake her mom had made, she turned to glare at Mitchie.  
"Mom, I was really enjoying myself, and so was Josh! WHY did you ruin it for me? And on my birthday too! You probably ruined his birthday."  
"Because I did." Said Mitchie. She blinked away the tears forming that came from thinking about Josh and Jason.  
"But WHY!"  
"Because, okay!" Said Mitchie, knowing it was an immature thing to say, but not being able to think of a better answer.  
"You never tell me anything! " Kari screamed, crying. "You haven't told me anything about our family, or told me why you don't have any pictures of my dad, or why you have no pictures of you holding me in the hospital when I was born, and now this!" Mitchie pushed Kari towards the stairs, upset and angry.  
"Go to your room." She snapped. "You're grounded for a month and I forbid you from EVER talking to those kids. Am I understood?"  
"I hate you." Kari growled angrily, as she ran upstairs, sobbing. Mitchie curled up on the sofa, and the anger she felt for herself turned into heavy sobs.

"Jason?" Asked James, cautiously. "I'm uhh...I'm gonna walk home now...Is that okay?" Jason didn't answer for a minute, but then eventually he looked up at James.  
"Sit here for a minute." He said, smiling sadly. James looked confused but did as he was told anyway. Silently, Jason passed a photograph of Kari's mom and Jason holding two babies.  
"…That's Josh and Kari." Said James. Jason looked at James, confused. "My mom explained everything to me when I became friends with Josh. I just…didn't want to bring it up in case it upset you to talk about."  
"Thanks." Said Jason. "I really appreciate that."  
"…Did she really?" Asked James. "Did…Miss Torres really leave because she couldn't cope with Joshua being deaf?" Jason nodded.  
"Took Kari with her, and just left." he sighed, not wanting to think about it. "James...Please...Take this photo and look after it for Josh...I'd tear it up, but I couldn't bare to...You understand." James nodded. "Hey, look at the time, you should be getting home."

When Amy and Ella got home, neither talked about what happened for a while. Amy was too shocked, and Ella was busy trying to think of an excuse.  
"Mom.." Said Amy, knocking on her mom's bedroom door. Ella looked up, and smiled.  
"Hey Amy." She said, hugging her daughter. "Can't sleep?"  
"It's not that…" She said. "…Who was that woman?" Ella was silent. "Come on mom, you need to tell me if somethings going on, she was shouting at me, and you just let her!"  
"It's…just a case of mistaken identity. I don't know her." said Ella, calmly. "Seriously, don't worry about it Amy, we won't see her again anyway."  
"But…she's Maggie's mom? That means we will see her, doesn't it?"  
"Well, I was thinking about that too." said Ella, slowly approaching the subject. "I think it would be best all round if I got you a private tutor so you can be home schooled."

Maggie sat alone upstairs on the computer. She looked around to see where her mom was, and cautiously typed in 'Maggie Andrews' in a search engine. She had to start doing her work for her family tree project. When no information came up past her facebook and myspace profiles, she typed in 'Nate Andrews' and looked at the links. Maggie looked confused - The results all seemed to have something to do with 'Connect 3'. Going on a an apparent fansite, she read the search results that came up under 'news articles'.  
_"It seems the youngest, and the first married of ex-band Connect 3, Nate Andrews and his wife, Caitlyn, will be having their first baby. The pair were unable for comment today, but sources have said that the baby is due in October." _Maggie knew that was her, so continued to scroll down the page. _"Connect 3 reunited. The band Connect 3, including several of their partners and best friends, have recently been seen out together, notably at a party celebrating Caitlyn's pregnancy." _Maggie looked at the picture for a long time that was underneath the article. Miss Perez, Mr Black, Miss Torres, and her mom and dad were all in the photograph. Confused, Caitlyn scrolled down through some of the articles, eventually coming to one at the bottom of the page. Her hand rose to cover her mouth, and tears spilled down her cheeks.

_"In a shocking exclusive, we can reveal that paternity tests have been carried out on Nate Andrews's baby daughter, that suggest Nate is not the father. There is a possible chance, therefore, that Maggie's father may be Nate's best friend and ex-band mate, Shane Gray."_


	3. Chapter 3

"Kari, wait up, please!" Maggie begged as she tried to follow her friend down the busy hallway.  
"No, Maggie I can't. I'm not allowed to talk to you, if someone sees us talking to each other, I'll get in trouble." Kari said sternly, upset to be hurting Maggie. She quickly turned away, but Maggie caught up with her, and grabbed her arm.  
"Kari, I have something really huge to tell you, I found out last night." Finally, Kari let out a heavy sigh, and turned to Maggie.  
"Alright, what is it." Maggie pulled Kari into an abandoned classroom, and closed the door quickly behind her. Maggie, without another word, thrust the printouts in Kari's direction. Kari scanned the articles, her eyes opening wide at the last one.  
"Woah...." Said Kari. "But...I'm confused....My mom, Josh's dad....Everyone's parents are talking here...And your dad? A pop star?"  
"DON'T say the word 'dad'." Sniffed Maggie, putting the printouts in her pocket. "What're we gonna do?"  
"There's nothing we CAN do!!" Said Kari. "If my mom finds out I'm talking to you, she'll pull me out of this school for sure!!!" Maggie shook her head.  
"We have to think of something. We have a right to know what the hell is going on."

"Nate he's not gonna show." Caitlyn whispered as they stood outside the day care room, waiting for Shane, hoping it wasn't him, after they dropped Todd off.  
"You're right, then it wasn't him." Nate said a lot calmer. "Let's just go home." He said, starting to lead her towards the exit. Suddenly, Caitlyn's mouth dropped open as her vision slowly blurred and she started swaying before tumbling into Nate and hitting the ground.  
"Caitlyn!" He yelled rushing down to her, he looked up to see what shocked her so much. To his surprise, Shane was walking in the doors with a Girl that had a name tag "Rachel" As some of the day care assistants tried to help Caitlyn come to, Nate quickly rushed into the room Todd was playing in, and picked him up.  
"Daddy! That's my new friend!" Grinned Rachel, waving over at Todd. Shane looked up, and his eyes widened as Nate came over.  
"So, you finally managed to convince one of your many girls to let you keep a child. Maybe you'd kindly keep her away from Todd." Nate snapped. However, Shane wasn't listening to Nate as he saw Caitlyn sitting, now conscious in the corner and sipping on some water. "Stop it! That's my wife!" Nate snapped, angry. Shane ignored him and walked over to where Caitlyn was sitting.  
"How are you?" He said softly. She looked up at him, and shook her head.  
"Don't." She whispered, pushing past Shane. "Nate, are you ready to go?" She asked, hugging Todd.  
"You go wait in the car." Said Nate gently, passing Todd to her, and giving them both a kiss on the head. As soon as she left, Nate walked straight up to Shane, and pointed a threatening finger.  
"I want you to stay away from Caitlyn, and the rest of my family. If I ever see you near them again I swear...." He mumbled, then walked up to the receptionist, who looked both confused and star-struck at getting two members of Connect 3 in the same place.  
"Could you please scratch Todd Andrews from your list, he will not be coming here anymore. Thanks." He glared at Shane again, and left.  
_  
_Just as Kari, Maggie and Amy neared the park to talk about what Maggie had found out about their parents, they heard a pair of wheels screech to a stop a little way up the road.  
"Amy Maria Perez, get here right now!" Screamed Ella. Amy looked over unsure.  
"Mom, they're my friends!" She said, unhappy. "You wanted me to get friends at this school, why can't I hang with them."  
"Please Amy, just get in the car. You heard what Ca—Mrs. Andrews said, so come here!"  
"Mom...." Sobbed Amy, as she looked back and Maggie and Kari apologetically. Ella turned Amy to face her.  
"I am calling the head of your school as soon as we get home, and telling them you are NOT going back!!! And then I'm going to call around to arrange a private tutor for you!" Maggie and Kari looked at eachother unsure as Ella and Amy drove away. Kari looked at her watch.  
"I was due home half an hour ago. I'd better be going." She sighed. "We'll work this out Mags, I promise." Maggie sighed, looking at where Ella's car had been moments before.  
"I hope so."

"There you are! Where've you been???" Asked Mitchie, as her daughter came through the door. She had called in sick from work today, stressed out by seeing Jason and Joshua again, so had started to worry when Mitchie wasn't home on time.  
"Sorry mom....After school club....thing.....Are you okay?"  
"You didn't see Maggie, did you??" Asked Mitchie. Kari's stomach twisted, and she shook her head.  
"N-no, why?"  
"I'm moving you to a different school...Just in case." Kari's eyes went wide.  
"But mom!"  
"Sorry Kari, it's just something I have to do..."  
"But why!"  
"Kari, it's not like we're moving house! You're just gonna go to a different school...It's not that far!! "  
"Well then I need to do my school project that's due in next week. I need to draw a family tree." Mitchie shrugged awkwardly.  
"Well...You know about Grandma and Grandpa, and I can tell you a little about my grandparents, that should be enough." Kari sighed.  
"Fine." She muttered, going up to her room. However, she had no plans to stay there moping - she was sick of her mom lying to her, so she didn't want to live there anymore. Grabbing a rucksack, she threw some things in it, sneaking out of the house.

When Maggie came in, she found her mom sitting on her own.  
"Mom? I'm home!" She called, nervously. Caitlyn smiled, and hugged her daughter.  
"How was your day?" She asked. Maggie nodded.  
"It was alright I guess...." She tried to look her mom in the eye. She couldn't - she'd lied to her about her father for all these years. Taking a deep breath, Maggie stepped away. "Mom...You'd tell me everything, right?"  
"Of course!" Smiled Caitlyn. "What's wrong?" Just then, Maggie and Caitlyn heard the door open, and Nate walked in, looking tired.  
"What's going on?" Asked Nate, seeing the tense atmosphere, and fearing the worst. Caitlyn turned to Maggie. Maggie took a deep breath, reached in her pocket, withdrawing the piece of paper about the paternity tests. She handed it to her mother.  
"Is this true?"  
"…I don't know what you're talking about." Said Caitlyn, as calmly as she could muster.  
"Mom, stop it." Maggie said, frowning. "I already know about your past life. And yours too d—Nate." She said, her voice shaking. Nate gasped at the use of his name. "Honey, please… can we talk about this?" Caitlyn said trying to touch Maggie's hand, but Maggie just pulled away.  
"No! I can't believe you two would lie to me all along!" Maggie felt tears rolling down her cheeks, but she didn't care. "And about who my real father is! I don't think I can trust either of you again."  
"Look, sweetie we did it for your own good, your mother and I just thought it would be the best thing. Anyway, it doesn't matter who your real father is, its all about who loves you, and i do." Nate said sighing and sitting beside Caitlyn, gently cupping her hands in his. Maggie jumped up quickly and stared at both of them  
"Yes it does matter. You!" She said, pointing at Nate, "Are NOT my real father" Quickly, she turned toward Caitlyn, "And I don't really want to consider you my mother either." She said coldly, before bursting into tears, and running upstairs.

Jennifer crawled up into the attic, and went over to what looked like some toys and clothes. Sitting up there carefully, she shone a torch on the box, and looked through it.  
"There must be something I can use in here...." She mumbled, before choosing a pink dress, a chewed teddybear, and a small photo album. "Maybe there's better stuff in those boxes...." Muttered Jennifer, reaching past the box of baby clothes. She peered into the box, and shone the torch on a photo album. "Camp Rock…" Muttered Jennifer. She held the torch over the picture on the first page, and gasped. There was a picture of her mom. Though she was much younger, Jennifer could still clearly see it was her mom.  
"Jennifer, dinner!!!" Called Tess from downstairs. Jennifer panicked, and grabbed the baby things she'd picked out, ran into her room, and hid the box.  
"Coming mom!!!" She replied eventually.

Amy kicked her front door. She had been planning on sneaking out to go and see the others, but her mom knew her better than that. She had already locked it, and hidden the key.  
"Mom unlock the door!" She whined. Ella held the phone reciever away from herself for a second.  
"No Amy, now stop it and come and eat your dinner." She said, calmly, not wanting to argue with Amy yet again. Amy glared at her mom for a second, and sat at the dinner table. "I've arranged a tutor for you."  
"Am I supposed to be grateful?" Amy replied, sarcastically. Ella shook her head at her, before carrying on.  
"She'll be here at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning until 3. You'll have to let her in, because I leave for work at half 8. Okay?"  
"What's her name?" Asked Amy.  
"Umm....I think she said it was Margaret."

Maggie threw herself on the bed and started crying as she punched her pillow a couple of times and kicked her feet. She slowly got up and moved to her desk, taking out her diary.  
'I don't know what to do anymore, my life has turned upside down in just a few days.  
First I find out I'm not allowed to hang out with my new friends, then I find out that my mom and dad have been lying to me forever! I can't even trust my mom anymore. Whoever this Shane Gray is, I really want to meet him.'  
She was distracted as she heard a small tapping on her window. Cautiously she opened her window, screaming as a figure jumped through the window.  
"Maggie, shh!" Maggie opened her eyes to see Kari standing in front of her.  
"What the hell are you doing here!" Panted Maggie, trying to catch her breath. Kari giggled a bit, then grew serious.  
"Sorry, look no-one knows I'm here. I ran away." She sat down on Maggie's bed.  
"Oh Kari, why." Sighed Maggie, sitting next to her. Before Kari could answer, there was a knock on her bedroom door. Panicking, Kari jumped up, and hid in the closet. "Honey, I heard screaming. Is everything okay?" Asked Caitlyn, softly. She smiled at her daughter, hoping she'd return the gesture.  
"No mom, I'm fine. I was just talking to myself. Or are you banning me from doing that too?" She snapped. Caitlyn's face fell.  
"Alright, I'll go." Sighed Caitlyn, closing the door behind her. Nate went to hug Caitlyn but she stood up suddenly, staring out the window.  
"Its not working." She said finally without facing Nate.  
"Wh-what do you mean?" Asked Nate, nearing her to wrap his arms around her waist. Swiftly she moved away, wrapping her arms around herself.  
"Us." She whispered. "Look at our family Nate...It's a mess."  
"No...No it's not...We'll just talk to Maggie...."  
"She's not gonna listen to us!!" Shouted Caitlyn, wiping away her tears. "It...It's best if you moved out with Todd for a while." She glared a little. "She's never gonna trust either of us again and…I don't know if I can deal with the tension in the house. "  
"You've been cold with me the last few days, what's going on with you, Cait!" Snapped Nate. There was more silence, and Caitlyn took a deep breath.  
"I....I saw Ella the other day." Nate looked up. "Your one-night stand with her? She had a baby."


End file.
